Device and assembly for flipping cards and method of use

ABSTRACT

A device (10) for flipping stacked cards from a first position to an opposite second position, the device comprising a flexible hollow cup-shaped member (12) having a base portion (13) defining a rim (14), and at least one recess (15) or aperture formed in or proximate a portion of the rim so that when the base portion is placed on a generally flat surface (16), there is formed at least one opening (17) that allows air to pass through when pressure is applied to an outer surface of the cup-shaped member

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to card games where cards are upturned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A popular game particularly among children involves using cupped hands to direct a blast of air to the base of a pack of cards placed face down on a table or other flat surface, so as to upturn as many of the cards as possible. The player who exposes the most cards from the pack is the winner.

It can be challenging to produce an air blast of sufficient strength using cupped hands.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,624,121 discloses a game comprising a plurality of rigid playing discs stacked one on top of another, each player being provided with a turn for striking a topmost one of the playing discs towards a periphery thereof so as thereby to upturn a number of the playing discs in the stack, the player claiming for himself those discs whose upper surface is downmost. An object of the game is to maximize the number of upturned playing discs.

US2014287392 discloses a board game instrument including at least two projectiles, a launch pad, at least two baskets, a game board, and at least two magic cards. The projectiles are thrown in a basket using a launch pad, which launches the projectile using an elastic force.

U.S. Pat. No. 2,187,524 discloses game which utilizes a projector device, projectiles and a variably configured target area containing a plurality of individual targets.

None of these prior art games discloses a device that causes a blast of air to upturn cards from a stack.

DE8703225U1 discloses a joke article with jumping effect, characterized by a shell made of an elastic material, the bottom of the shell being able to be pressed in against the shell curvature beyond the edge of the shell. An air passage is provided in the shell at some distance from the edge and serves to prevent the shell adhering to a support surface under suction. It is noted that the air passage should neither be provided in the base region of the shell nor arranged directly on the edge.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,927,177 discloses a pop action toy ball assembly having separate lower and upper hemispherical sections joined together by a connection element anchored at one end to the apex of the lower hemispherical section and extending upwardly through the apex of the upper hemispherical section without being affixed thereto. The lower hemispherical section is selectively positionable between a normal orientation, where a first surface faces outwardly, and an inverted orientation, where a second surface faces outwardly. If the toy ball assembly is impacted while the lower hemispherical section is inverted, the toy assembly pops from its inverted orientation back into its normal orientation.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,803,033 discloses a pop action toy assembly having an elastomeric body that is defined primarily by a first surface and a second surface. The elastomeric body is selectively positionable between a normal orientation, where the first surface faces outwardly, and an inverted orientation, where the second surface faces outwardly. An activator assembly having an impact disc and a knob extends through the elastomeric body at its apex. The impact disc strikes the ground when the toy assembly pops from an inverted orientation back into its normal orientation. The knob is used to grasp, spin and throw the toy assembly when inverted. A plurality of tabs symmetrically protrude from the base rim of the elastomeric body. If the toy assembly is inverted and strikes the ground, the protruding tabs act to concentrate the force of the impact and cause the toy assembly to pop back into its normal orientation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the invention is to provide a device or accessory that may be used instead of cupping one's hands to a similar effect.

This object is achieved in accordance with an embodiment of the invention by a device comprising a flexible hollow cup-shaped member having a base portion defining a rim, and at least one recess or aperture formed in or proximate a portion of the rim so that when the base portion is placed on a generally flat surface, there is formed at least one opening that allows air to pass through when pressure is applied to an outer surface of the cup-shaped member.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to understand the invention and to see how it may be carried out in practice, embodiments will now be described, by way of non-limiting example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1a shows pictorially a device according to a first embodiment;

FIG. 1b shows a sectional elevation of the device shown in FIG. 1a resting on a flat surface;

FIG. 2 shows schematically use of the device shown in FIG. 1 a for flipping cards from a first position to a second position shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 4a shows pictorially a device according to a second embodiment;

FIG. 4b shows a sectional elevation of the device shown in FIG. 4a resting on a flat surface;

FIG. 5 shows pictorially a device according to a third embodiment;

FIG. 6a shows pictorially components of a two-part assembly according to a fourth embodiment;

FIG. 6b shows schematically use of the assembly shown in FIG. 6 a;

FIG. 7a shows pictorially components of a two-part assembly according to a first variation of the fourth embodiment;

FIG. 7b shows schematically use of the assembly shown in FIG. 7 a;

FIG. 8a shows pictorially components of a two-part assembly according to a second variation of the fourth embodiment; and

FIG. 8b shows schematically use of the assembly shown in FIG. 8 a.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

In the following description of some embodiments, identical components that appear in more than one figure or that share similar functionality will be referenced by identical reference symbols.

With reference to the figures, there is shown a device 10 for flipping stacked cards 11 from a first position shown in FIG. 2 to an opposite second position shown in FIG. 3. Typically, in the first position the cards are face down and in the second position they are exposed, but the game according to the invention may be played with the cards initially exposed since the game's skill resides in the player's ability to flip as many cards from the stack as possible.

In a first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1a and 1 b, the device 10 comprises a flexible hollow cup-shaped member 12, typically formed of rubber or plastic having a base portion 13 defining a rim 14, and a recess 15 formed in a portion of the rim so that when the base portion is placed on a generally flat surface 16, a single elongated recess 15 forms an opening 17 that allows air to pass through when pressure is applied to an outer surface of the cup-shaped member.

The device 10 may be used to play a game for flipping cards, whose rules comprise:

-   -   (a) placing a stack of cards on a generally flat surface 16;     -   (b) disposing the device in close proximity to the stack of         cards with the recess facing the cards; and     -   (c) exerting pressure on an outer surface of the device so as to         direct a blast of air toward a base of the stack of cards and         thereby flip cards from a first position to an opposite second         position.

The player who flips the most cards is the winner.

Typically, a player exerts pressure by pushing on the outer surface of the device with his or her hands 18.

FIGS. 4a and 4b depict a second embodiment where instead of only a single recess, multiple recesses 15 are formed in the rim of the cup-shaped member 12 thus forming multiple openings 17 when the device is placed on the surface 16.

FIG. 5 depicts a third embodiment wherein small apertures 19 are formed around a periphery of the cup-shaped member 12 toward the rim 14. The apertures 19 form openings through air passes when pressure is applied to the outer surface of the cup-shaped member 12. A single elongated aperture or slot as shown in FIG. 8a may also be used either on its own or in conjunction with a recess 15.

FIGS. 6a and 7a show pictorially a two-part assembly 20 according to variations of a fourth embodiment prior to assembly and FIGS. 6b and 7b show the respective assemblies during use. In effect, the fourth embodiment uses the same device 10 as described above with reference to FIGS. 1 and 5 but instead of placing the device 10 on a flat surface, such as a table, with the apertures 19 or recesses 15 proximate the table, the device 10 is disposed with the apertures 19 or recesses 15 uppermost thus forming a compressible hollow cup with the apertures 19 or recesses 15 close to its rim 14. A second compressible cup-shaped plunger element 21 of diameter slightly larger than that of the device 10 is now assembled on top of the device 10 and may optionally be sealed or otherwise joined thereto. When pressure is brought to bear on the plunger element 21, air is pushed out of the apertures 19 or recesses 15 with sufficient pressure to upturn a pack of cards in its vicinity.

FIGS. 8a and 8a show pictorially a two-part assembly 20 according to another variation of the fourth embodiment prior to and during assembly, respectively. This variation is similar to that shown in FIGS. 6a and 6b except that instead of forming a plurality of apertures there is formed a single elongated slot 22. The different variations may be combined so that, for example, the lower device 10 may have both apertures and a recess or an elongated slot and a recess.

It has been found experimentally that the first embodiment works particularly effectively and allows a skilled player to upturn all the cards in an average stack. The second and third embodiments were less effective although they did succeed in upturning many if not most of the cards in the stack. The fourth embodiment was also found to be extremely effective. The effectiveness of the apertures in FIG. 5 depends on how close they are located to the rim since this determines to what extent air reaches the lower surface of the card stack. If air does not succeed in forcing its way underneath the bottom of the stack, then the bottom cards in the stack will not be flipped.

It should be noted that while the invention has been described with particular reference to regular playing cards as shown pictorially in FIGS. 2 and 3, no such limitation is implied. Thus, the device according to the embodiment may be used in conjunction with other types of cards, such as those collected by children as well as a labels, sticky labels having a removable backing and used prior to removal thereof, and any other card having visually distinguished upper and lower surfaces. Likewise, while the recesses are shown as having arcuate contours, again no limitation is implied and good results have been achieved in practice using rectangular-shaped recesses. 

1. A device for flipping stacked cards from a first position to an opposite second position, the device comprising a flexible hollow cup-shaped member having a base portion defining a rim, and at least one recess or aperture; characterized in that: the at least one recess or aperture is formed in or proximate a portion of the rim so that when the base portion is placed on a generally flat surface, there is formed at least one opening that allows air to pass through when pressure is applied to an outer surface of the cup-shaped member, and to direct a blast of air toward a base of a stack of cards disposed on said surface proximate the at least one opening, and thereby flip the cards from the first position to the second position.
 2. The device according to claim 1, having a single elongated recess formed in the rim of the cup-shaped member.
 3. The device according to claim 1, having multiple recesses formed in the rim of the cup-shaped member.
 4. The device according to claim 1, having multiple apertures formed in the cup-shaped member proximate the rim.
 5. The device according to claim 1, having at least one elongated aperture formed in the cup-shaped member proximate the rim.
 6. An assembly comprising: a device for flipping stacked cards from a first position to an opposite second position, the device comprising a flexible hollow cup-shaped member having a base portion defining a rim, and at least one recess or aperture; characterized in that: the at least one recess or aperture is formed in or proximate a portion of the rim so that when the base portion is placed on a generally flat surface, there is formed at least one opening that allows air to pass through when pressure is applied to an outer surface of the cup-shaped member, and to direct a blast of air toward a base of a stack of cards disposed on said surface proximate the at least one opening, and thereby flip the cards from the first position to the second position; and a plunger element that is configured to push air out through the recess and/or apertures of the device.
 7. The assembly according to claim 6, wherein the device and the plunger element are joined to form a unitary construction.
 8. The assembly according to claim 7, wherein the device and the plunger element are sealed.
 9. The assembly according to claim 6, wherein a rim of the plunger element has a diameter slightly larger than that of the device.
 10. The assembly according to claim 6, wherein the at least one aperture includes an elongated slot.
 11. A method for using a device to play a game for flipping cards, the method comprising: (a) providing a device for flipping stacked cards from a first position to an opposite second position, the device comprising a flexible hollow cup-shaped member having a base portion defining a rim, and at least one recess or aperture; characterized in that: the at least one recess or aperture is formed in or proximate a portion of the rim so that when the base portion is placed on a generally flat surface, there is formed at least one opening that allows air to pass through when pressure is applied to an outer surface of the cup-shaped member, and to direct a blast of air toward a base of a stack of cards disposed on said surface proximate the at least one opening, and thereby flip the cards from the first position to the second position; (b) placing a stack of cards on a surface; (c) disposing the device in close proximity to the stack of cards with the recess and/or apertures facing the cards; and (d) exerting pressure on an outer surface of the device so as to direct a blast of air toward a base of the stack of cards and thereby flip cards from a first position to an opposite second position; whereby a player wins by flipping more cards than any other player.
 12. The method according to claim 11, wherein a player exerts hand pressure by pushing on the outer surface of the device.
 13. A method for using an assembly to play a game for flipping cards, the method comprising: (a) providing an assembly, the assembly comprising: a device for flipping stacked cards from a first position to an opposite second position, the device comprising a flexible hollow cup-shaped member having a base portion defining a rim, and at least one recess or aperture; characterized in that: the at least one recess or aperture is formed in or proximate a portion of the rim so that when the base portion is placed on a generally flat surface, there is formed at least one opening that allows air to pass through when pressure is applied to an outer surface of the cup-shaped member, and to direct a blast of air toward a base of a stack of cards disposed on said surface proximate the at least one opening, and thereby flip the cards from the first position to the second position; and a plunger element that is configured to push air out through the recess and/or apertures of the device; (b) placing a stack of cards on a surface; (c) disposing the assembly in close proximity to the stack of cards with the plunger element uppermost and the recess and/or apertures facing the cards; and (d) exerting pressure on an outer surface of the plunger element so as to direct a blast of air toward a base of the stack of cards and thereby flip cards from a first position to an opposite second position; whereby a player wins by flipping more cards than any other player.
 14. The method according to claim 13, wherein a player exerts hand pressure by pushing on the outer surface of the plunger element. 